James felt he had done his part to make this evening go smoothly. He had brought Lily flowers earlier to bolster her for this trying event. He had patiently waited for her to try on three different robes with matching shoes. He dutifully gave his opinion on each, and when she chose one, it was he who helped her decide between two pairs of shoes.
Before she got ready, they had made wedding plans. James had no doubt his parents were going to ask them about it and insinuate that the marriage would never take place, so he had asked Lily if she had given it any thought. The crazy woman had pulled out a notebook. They would be getting married on Christmas Eve at three in the afternoon, that way people would still have plenty of time to get home for their Christmas celebrations. Millie be her attendant and wear a red knee length, long sleeved dress. James could, of course, choose his own best man. There was a small chapel near her old home that would be darling, and a bit of garland with white lights would make perfect decoration. She had researched magical weddings and felt its components could easily be woven into a Muggle wedding ceremony.
When he had asked her how long she had held these plans, she replied that these details had been decided when she was fourteen.
James was not going to mess with that.
At six thirty five they had apparated to his parents' garden behind the house in London, and he was beginning to think she wasn't going to make the short walk to the front door. She had been calm leading up to what promised to be a grand farce, but now Lily seemed to be unraveling. She was always excitable, but this was a display of undiluted anxiety. After the ordeal of choosing robes and shoes, she had made sure every single curl looked perfect. Immediately after they had apparated, she ran a hand through her hair and her curls instantly regained their tousled appearance. James was not about to comment on it.
"Do I have any lint on my robes?"
James knew how this would go. He dusted off her already clean shoulder. "You look perfect. I'm sure they'll love you. In fact, there's no doubt in my mind that they'll love you twice as much as they love me."
"Then why have you been so antsy these past few days?"
"Antsy?" James repeated in disbelief. "I am worried you won't like them."
Lily suddenly swung around so they were facing and kissed him. "I won't leave you if you won't leave me."
"I'm pretty sure there's no way you could possibly get rid of me."
"Good. I like that. Since there's no getting rid of either of us, why don't we beard the lions in their den?"
James took her hand and knocked on the front door and mentally prepared himself for the first disaster that would surely occur. Mrs. McGrievy, the housekeeper, opened the door with a curious smile.
"Your mother and father are waiting for you in the sitting room off the dining room."
"Mrs. McGrievy, this is Lily Evans. We're going to be married in a few months."
Lily stepped inside the doorway and murmured, "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. McGrievy."
"And it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Evans. James, I'll leave you to your parents."
Mrs. McGrievy trotted off, James figured to spread the news about Lily, and the two of them meandered to the sitting room. "Are you ready?"
Lily nodded and then smiled slightly when he squeezed her hand.
James opened the door, and he felt absurdly proud to have her walk into that room with him. She smiled so convincingly that he would never have known she was nervous beyond belief. "Lily, these are my parents. Mother, Sir, this is Lily Evans."
"Lily, it's wonderful to see you again," Mrs. Potter said as she rushed forward to hug Lily.
"It's nice to see you, too, Mrs. Potter." Lily responded. This was certainly a warm welcome.
"Do call me Emmaline. James, come here and meet Lily."
Lily raised her eyebrows, but then she understood when the blond-haired man stepped forward.
"I would suggest you call me James," he said as he grasped one of Lily's hands between both of his own, "but that could become very confusing. It's lovely to finally meet you, Lily."
"Thank you." Lily was very wary of this man. He seemed charming and sophisticated. He was dressed in navy robes that were the height of fashion but not frilly or overdone, and he was still very handsome despite his age. Most importantly, though, he had deeply hurt James over and over again.
"Come and sit down. We'll have dinner in just a few minutes, but in the mean time I can't wait to get to know the remarkable Miss Evans." Mr. Potter cupped Lily's elbow and led her over to a sofa, and he sat opposite of her next to his wife. James followed quickly and he sat on the couch in such a hurry that Lily nearly fell over. She raised an eyebrow and he just shrugged in response.
The four of them looked around at each other expectantly, but Mrs. Potter finally broke the silence by asking, "Do you plan to pursue a career?"
James winced, but if Lily found it an odd question, she didn't indicate it. "I submitted my Hit Witch applications today. I hope to enter the fall training session."
Mr. Potter's jaw dropped just a minuscule amount. "Isn't that a bit dangerous?"
"No more dangerous than flying around on a broomstick like James does," Emmaline replied. "I say good for you, dear. We need more women in fields like that."
"Thank you." That was a surprising turn of events. Lily figured Mrs. Potter was the sort who believed all women should be stay at home mothers. "I wanted to be an Auror, but England doesn't allow it. Nearly all of the countries on the Continent do, though."
"That's a shame. I'm sure you'll do excellently, though. Do you have any hobbies?"
Lily thought for a moment, "I can't say that I do. In my spare time I enjoy reading, sleeping, and watching the telly. Quite unremarkable, really."
"Ahh," Mrs. Potter was clearly thrown for a loop. "Well, I happen to enjoy music. Perhaps sometime you'll allow me to give you lessons, or James could; he is quite accomplished at the piano. Perhaps he'll play some for us after dinner?"
Lily looked toward Mr. Potter, "Please do. I would love to hear you."
"I'm not the accomplished one," he smiled. "It would be the one next to you."
"James?" Lily asked with a lot of doubt. "You play the piano? Why didn't you say something?"
"Because I didn't want to. Thank you, Mother, for bringing that up."
"Of course."
"So…will you play?" Lily asked. She turned to face him and rested a hand on his knee. "I have to admit I'm very interested. I doubt I could let this go. Just one song? Just a single round?"
"Is there any chance you'll forget about it after we eat?"
"None at all."
"Can I just do it now and get it over with?"
"By all means," his mother interrupted. "Why don't we take a short detour to the music room?"
"Why don't we?" James mimicked sourly. He and Lily followed his parents to another room, and while they were walking, he whispered, "I can't believe you did that to me."
"I can't believe you didn't tell me you could play the piano? Do you have other secret talents you're hiding?"
"Why don't we have a talk about that when we get home? Or rather, I'll show you."
"I don't mean that!" said Lily with embarrassment. His parents were a meter in front of them. He couldn't say what she thought he was going to.
"Mean what?"
"You know what I mean," she hissed.
"I wasn't!"
"You have other talents?"
"Why do you sound so surprised?"
"James, stop being deliberately obtuse and tell me."
"Excuse me for being in a bad mood for being put on display like a…a trophy!" James sounded so disgruntled that she laughed.
"You're quite the catch alright, but," Lily stood on her toes to whisper in his ear, "if you play, we can snog in that nook in the wall on the way back to the dining room."
"The one with the statue of Agrippa in it?"
Lily nodded. James cracked his knuckles. "Do you have a musical preference, my dear? A little Schubert? A magical composer mayhap? Ahh, never mind, I know what you would like. I do resent being treated like a performing monkey, though."
"Stow it, Potter."
James ruffled her hair and approached the piano bench of the shiny, black instrument nestled between potted trees. Lily glanced around the room only briefly before training her gaze on James. Another time she would have to examine it more closely, because the gilded molding along the chair rail was really fabulous, but she was distracted by James. He tapped his wand on a box to produce a few crumpled sheets of music, and a few seconds later he was tapping out the opening notes of Tchaikovsky's Waltz of the Flowers. He glanced up and winked at her.
She watched his hands move back and forth impressively over the keys, and his dark hair kept falling into his eyes. Those hazel eyes kept meeting hers over the piano, and Lily realized she was being seduced with a scene from a Christmas ballet. She loved every second of it. When he ended the final notes, he raised his eyebrows. "Well?"
"That's beautiful, James," Lily said quietly and walked toward him. "And you're right, I love that song.
James kissed her temple and then cleared his throat. "Will we be going to dinner now?"
"Yes, it should be done," Emmaline answered after consulting the clock.
"We'll trail behind, I want to point out some of the artwork to Lily," James said, and as promised, pointed out some artwork a few meters behind his parents.
"Oh, look, there's that lovely statue of Agrippa. Let's take a closer look." Lily glanced at Mr. and Mrs. Potter, and then pulled James into the small space between the statue and the wall. "James, that piano is sexy," she said, frantically kissing him.
"I had no idea you were so interested in music."
"I'm not. I'm interested in you playing music. Stop talking."
Just about a half minute later, Emmaline turned and saw nobody following her. "Where are they?"
"I'm sure they'll be along quickly," her husband assured her. If his stepson wished to snog his fiancé in a statue nook, he certainly wasn't going to interfere.
"Lily, have you given any thought to wedding plans? I would love to help you. After meeting you, I have to say I can barely wait for the wedding."
"Neither can James," Mr. Potter muttered so lowly nobody except for James could hear him. James shot both parents a dirty look.
"Mother, didn't I tell you not to bother her with that?"
"It's fine. We made some plans this afternoon. Our wedding will be on December twenty fourth at three in the afternoon at a small chapel near my home."
Mrs. Potter raised her golden eyebrows in surprise and pursed her lips in obvious disapproval. "If that is what you wish," she said in such a tone that James wanted to strangle her. He knew that tone. It very clearly said if you want to, dear, go on ahead, but it will be a tremendous mistake. He also knew she horded up that tone on occasions where she wanted her opinion to be the only one that mattered.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing, if you're sure."
"Tell me what you don't like about that," Lily insisted, and James wanted to pry her eyelids open. Dear, sweet, innocent Lily had no idea what sort of manipulative control freak she was involving herself with.
"Well, darling, I am so excited about this wedding I can barely stand it, but I think Christmas Eve much too soon." Mrs. Potter sighed in fake regret, "People will think you're rushing into things too much, and five months isn't really enough time to plan the wedding of your dreams. Christmas isn't an exceptionally important holiday in the magical world like the Muggle world. The summer solstice would be a more suitable holiday."
"Getting married on the summer solstice?" Lily asked in a tone of such unmasked horror James laughed.
"Mother, it wouldn't be the same for Lily. Why not let her combine her two favorite things: Christmas and me?"
Lily didn't even notice James's comment. She was too appalled at the thought of getting married on the summer solstice. It was like a sick, cruel, disgusting joke that made her want to throw up the delicious crème brûlèe she had eaten earlier.
"It's a wizarding custom, James! I was married on the summer solstice, as were your grandparents on both sides. Everybody who is anybody will get married then."
"We won't," James said firmly. "Besides, that is a very long time away."
"It's always been my dream to see you married on the summer solstice. It's charming, the longest day of the year."
"That does have some appeal, James. That means the nights begin to get longer," Mr. Potter added.
"I am quite aware what happens after the summer solstice. We will get married on whatever day Lily chooses, even if it's April Fool's Day."
That made Lily giggle, and she was momentarily distracted. "If Sirius gets married, it will have to be on April first."
"I wish you would think about moving the wedding to the summer solstice; I think you will enjoy it ever so much more. You won't have to rush, and you'll be able to make your plans at a leisurely pace and enjoy yourself. It will also be more convenient for others during the holidays."
James watched Lily slowly cave in. "It would be more convenient. I had thought of it before, but I thought if it was early enough it would be okay. I suppose no one will want to come to our wedding and leave their families and their holiday parties."
"That's what I was thinking."
"I suppose the summer solstice would be fine."
"I always did love June brides."
"I can't believe I caved in. Why did I do it?" Lily asked miserably. She flopped on the bed and stared at the ceiling. "I've always wanted a Christmas wedding, but something about what she was saying made me forget it."
"She has made a career out of manipulating people, and you were an easy target. Just tell her you want a Christmas wedding and that's that," James said, flipping through his side of the closet. "Hell, if you want, just send her an owl saying you changed your mind."
"I can't. I can't stand to see that disappointed look on her face. I'm weak."
"Are you going to spend the rest of her life letting her control you?"
"No, but this seems so important to her. She's always dreamed of you being married on the solstice. Maybe the Christmas thing is just a silly Muggle thing. I'm not living in the Muggle world anymore, and I need to adjust to the wizard holidays."
"Okay, if that's what you want."
"I think so. I don't know. This is too confusing. Why is everything so confusing? Even Sirius's party is too confusing, but that's your fault because you won't tell me what everyone else wears."
"I've already told you they wear everything," James grumbled, and finally pulled a shirt off of a hanger. He held it up and turned to Lily. "Does this match these pants?"
Lily sat up so fast James blinked. In a slightly scary way she walked over to him quickly and poked him in the chest. "What's this? Are you worried about what you're wearing? Well, I'm worried too. I will be mortified if I'm wearing something different than anybody else."
"Do you just want me to reach in the closet and grab something? That's the only solution I have, because nothing will be unusual with Sirius involved!"
"No, I don't want you to choose my clothing for me. I just want a clothing category."
"ANYTHING!"
Lily felt her eyes grow wide and her jaw dropped.
"I shouldn't have-." James began to apologize, but he stopped when he saw Lily laughing. "Why are you laughing?"
She sat on the floor when she could no longer trust herself to stand, and continued laughing. "You looked so…exasperated. It was priceless. It was like you were ready to tear out your hair."
"Since when is that new?"
"It was just funny this time. We should probably hurry, or everyone will have left by the time we get there." Lily flipped through her clothes from her position on the floor. "Robes or Muggle clothes?"
"Muggle clothes; that's what all of Sirius's crowd wears."
"Is your crowd and his crowd not the same?"
"Not really. I pretty much stick with a few close friends, but Sirius wants to be around everyone all the time. He would die without a social life. I, on the other hand, relish keeping my own company."
"You are such a drama queen," Lily muttered and changed her clothes.
"I would give you some advice, but I wouldn't want to risk being a drama queen," James said snootily when they walked into Sirius's flat. He had been in a snit ever since she had labeled him.
"I'm sure this will be interesting, so go ahead." Lily crossed her arms and looked up at him with amusement. A sudden stroke of insight furthered her perception of him to a dramatic mother hen, but she figured he wouldn't appreciate it if she pointed it out.
"I would like to begin by saying I can't believe you called me a drama queen. Moving past that, don't drink anything that you didn't see poured straight out of an unopened bottle, and don't make eye contact with anyone. Don't let anyone lure you outside, and – what are you looking at?"
"I'm trying not to make eye contact with anyone."
"I didn't mean me."
"Does that mean I can accept beverages from you, or am I not able to trust you not to slip something in it?"
"You can use your own judgment."
"Are you acknowledging I have judgment?"
"I'm just trying to protect you. What's so funny?"
Lily couldn't help but laugh. "James, I appreciate that, but you just told me the same things my mother told me when I was thirteen and going to my first boy/girl party."
James also crossed his arms and looked down with her with equal amusement. "I assure you, Sirius's friends are much more dangerous than the average thirteen year old boy."
"Are you included in that?" Lily batted her eyes at him and tried not to laugh again, "Big boy." As soon as the words left her mouth, they both burst into giggles. Lily had just settled down when looked at him and erupted again.
Sirius glided in their direction with two drinks in his hand and a grin on his face. "I was going to offer my favorite couple something to drink, but it looks like you're already half-pissed."
"I'm sorry, I couldn't accept a drink from you, Sirius. James told me not to. I didn't see you open the original container."
"I'm really going to regret I said anything, aren't I?"
"Definitely."
"I take back everything I said since we came here," James saw her open her mouth to argue, and interrupted, "except the part where I said you can use your own judgment."
"Very good. Sirius, this looks like a lovely party. I'm sure you two have something to gossip about, so excuse me, I see someone I know." Lily flashed them both a bright smile, took a cup out of Sirius's hand, and threaded her way through the crowd.
"I like her," Sirius said happily. "If she wasn't so perfect for you, I would probably trick her into living with me." James made an incoherent sound, so Sirius continued, "You know, I don't think I've seen you laugh like that in a few years. I hope to see more of it."